From the 'Ville

On July 10, we made our way to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to report to ABWE headquarters. We made our presentation to the board the day of our arrival and then had the weekend to kill before the annual Missionary Enrichment Conference began on Monday. The kids had some fun pool time and Luca continues to show no fear in the water and enjoyed swimming laps, literally. We took the kids to see "Wall-E" as well, however, it was not enough to keep Luca's attention and to avoid causing great annoyance to the other viewers I had to take him out of the theater. My absense did not please Emma, thus she and Luca pretend played on the video arcades for the second half of the movie. Samuel liked it at least and I look forward to seeing it when it comes out on DVD. At this age our fun family outings can be a total bust. Over the weekend we also took the opportunity to travel near Philly to visit a college friend and his family: Jon & Sarah Culver with their two girls, Summer & Sienna. What amazing friends they are and it was such a HUGE blessing and encouragement to see them and attend church with them.

Monday began ME and a very busy and tiring week for us. The theme was "Rising Above the Storms of Life" and it truly hit home and was so encouraging. Our ABWE family is so precious to us and it's so great to be around a group of people that can totally relate and share our joys and trials with an understanding of "We know what you mean, we've been there." It's just nice to not feel alone in this cross cultural calling. There was one lady honored for her 60 years of active service. They had to drag her back from the Philippines where she has a vibrant women's prison ministry...talk about being faithful! She did not want to come but they convinced her that her presence would be such an encouragement to the younger missionaries, and it was. She is such a fire ball...in her 80's and in fine health. Jonathan and I attended a module on TESOL since that is one our first projects we'll set up when we get back. Very useful and some great ideas gleaned. The kids did really well in the MK activities and Emma is doing really well at being left in classes with strangers. Samuel enjoyed a Limo ride to McDonalds one day and made a scene during the kid's closing song because he wanted to watch himself on the projected big screens. So he was waving most of the song, while singing and watching his movements on the screen. Those moments as a parent you want to crawl under a chair, but everyone else thinks it's the funniest and cutest thing. At least he wasn't the only one with a few crack up moments.

We returned on Saturday afternoon after a long drive back with no AC in the van. Thankfully we did not have to travel on Sunday as we presented at our home church. It has been so wonderful to reconnect with so many friends here in Cedarville. So far, each day has been filled with an engagement with friends. Our time is passing quickly with just two weeks remaining in the 'Ville. Which by the way, hasn't changed a bit. The kids seem to like "Ho-Hi-Ho" as well since they are getting lots of playtime with other kids their ages.

Just real quickly...pray for us as we are needing to determine in the next couple of weeks if we need to cancel our return tickets to Italy. We are still needing the bulk of our support amount that we originally set out to raise. God knows the "how" and "when" and are trusting in his provision.

Small step...huge victory!

Recently, I was inspired and encouraged by a friend in California to start teaching our kids how to read. Since our kids live in a bilingual world we have been advised to not stress about reading in English until a little bit later on in elementary school. It can be confusing to learn 2 languages and I can completely understand the rationale. However, the project must be tackled at some point. Upon Christy's recommendation we bought Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. All the lessons are laid out for you and tell you exactly what you as the teacher need to say and how your child needs to respond. It is phonics based so has double the bonus since Italian is also phonetical, although some letters variate in pronunciation. This week I began the process with Samuel and have been so encouraged by his excitement to work through these 20-30 minute lessons. He is doing really well and the other great thing is is that he is more willing to try writing. He is over 5 and still can't write his name! But for some reason he is more cooperative after working on the sounds from his lesson. How wonderful that the first 3 sounds that we work on are S-A-M. For those that know Samuel you know that he is a perfectionist and doesn't like to try things if he doesn't think he can do it perfectly the first time. He whined a little bit that his "m" was not right but hopefully the over the top praise from his parents will keep him moving forward and encouraged. So these are little baby steps but a huge victory in our minds in regards to Samuel. He even wanted to teach Emma himself from the book! So far it is working out well since our learning time is during Luca & Emma's naptime. If you are looking to teach your kids to read this is the book and designed for kids 3-5 years of age. Happy Reading!

California Dreamin'

We greatly miss our family in California but are so thankful for the time the Lord allowed us to be together. Here are just some random pictures of some amazing times together....

The Fisher Family Reunion...Jennie, Miguel & Diego were greatly missed! Praying for a complete family reunion to come soon!

Still trying for that perfect family photo with everyone looking in the same direction and smiling

Scuba Emma. A very common sight to see walking around the house.

While walking the streets of Solvang the kids spotted a bright yellow Lotus. The owner was approaching his car at the same time and saw the look of awe on Samuel's face and without hesitation offered Samuel & Emma a "ride." I was floored that someone with that kind of car would offer complete strangers 5 and under to check-out the car. Needless to say Luca was quite upset to not be in on the action...but we do have to draw a line somewhere.

More beach time at Refugio Beach.

Luca could not have been happier having the freedom to run and play. And yes, his hair is now blonder with all that California sun!

Great-Nana with some of her great grandchildren.
Emma, Maddie, Isabella, Luca & Samuel

Papa, the picture explains it all!

Samuel & Speedy the Turtle

Cooling off during the 120 degree heatwave that hit California in June. This mini-spa is actually Uncle Ben's fish pond that was meant for Speedy.

Great-Campa came home from rehab in mid-May to live with Nano & Papa. The kids loved helping care for him as well as providing him with lots of entertainment.

Thanks Papa & Nano for all the special lovin' and fun times!

Oops...that would be Mamma's fault for thinking that I already had my sunscreen on at the beach!